Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union 149

06/16/2026

Our new class of apprentices are now on the job! 🔧🔩
Last week, these apprentices began their career focused on the most important aspect of the job: safety!
During their week of training - known as "Boomer's Boot Camp" - our instructors and Neal "Boomer" Asklund, owner and safety manager at A&R Mechanical Contractors, guide them on safe workplaces and what they can expect in their careers.
This week, they've started working toward more than 1,700 hours on the job and hundreds more in the classroom, which they are required to complete in 5 years, when they graduate to become journey workers.
Congratulations to our new apprentices - we look forward to seeing you graduate in 2031! 👏👏👏

06/12/2026

400,000!
That’s how many United Association members there are across North America today.
More union members than ever before. More signatory contractors than ever before. More work than ever before. And our union continues to grow.
Local 149 is growing, too – now with more than 700 brothers and sisters!
We are proud to be UA! ✊

06/10/2026

It's our birthday! 🥳🥳
On this day in 1899, this group of local plumbers and pipefitters formed United Association Local 149 - ensuring safer workplace conditions, proper training and legal protections for themselves and for all who have followed them.
We are grateful for their efforts and proud to be 127 years later! 💪💪

06/08/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 Apprentice graduates! 🥳🥳
They successfully completed their 5-year apprenticeships and we celebrate them as they have graduated to earn the title of Journey Workers!
Throughout their careers, they will continue to learn, continue to train and continue to grow - which is why they are among the very best union workers in East Central Illinois!!

United Association Illinois Pipe Trades Association

05/29/2026

Tonight's graduation ceremony includes two apprentices who served our country, among our 27 graduates.
We thank The News-Gazette for highlighting the journey of Austin Ferguson and Damian Light and the value of programs like the United Association's Veterans In Piping and Helmets to Hardhats!

Returning from overseas military experience can leave veterans facing a challenging adjustment period. Some — at least two local gentlemen — say the trades can help find a new path

05/28/2026

⛳️🏌️‍♂️🏌️🏌️‍♀️⛳️
Last year, our annual golf outing sold out.
Half our spots are now filled, just a month after we announced this year's event!
Scan the QR code here or visit our website to join us on Aug. 29 at Lake of the Woods and help support our relief fund!

05/27/2026

🥳 🧑‍🎓We present - our 2026 apprentice graduates!👩‍🎓🥳

Five years ago, they spent the first of what would be hundreds of hours in a classroom and nearly 2,000 hours on the job.
On Friday, they graduate to become journey workers, earning greater responsibility at work, greater pay and recognized as being among the very best in our industry.

Some will join the construction side, others serving customers. We are proud of every one of them and look forward to calling them Brothers and Sisters for decades to come!

Service: Ryan Welsh, Nicholas Carswell, Tyler Smith, Levi Jury, Dustin Busboom, Andrew Warnes, Nicholas Minard, Wesley Schell, Devin Gray, Zach DeVore, Taylor Hardwick, Eric Zimmer

Construction: Joseph Chickini, Case Starkey, Orion C***a, Benjamin Fitzgerald, Keegan Robinson, Laura Abbott, Wesley Propst, Jacob Wolf, Warren Tjarks, Max Donner, Damian Light, Daniel Sola, Beau Thomas, Charles Tudor, Austin Ferguson

05/25/2026

We thank each and every one.

05/15/2026

Five years ago, this group took the first step in their careers as union apprentices.
Since then, the group has evolved, but they've now finished their final class!!
We are proud of their hard work and the class wanted to thank Training Director Derek Reedy and Kimberly Davis, Assistant to the Training Director, for their guidance and support over those years.
We will be cheering them on in two weeks, when they officially graduate to become journey workers!

05/10/2026

🌷 To the mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, bonus moms and mother figures who keep our families, workplaces and communities strong – we say thank you.
It’s something not said often enough, but we appreciate all that you do at work and at home. It does not go unnoticed and we wish each of you a day filled with love and appreciation. 🌷